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CNN Money vid on the Tesla

Discussion in 'Tesla' started by Skoorbmax, Nov 1, 2011.

  1. Skoorbmax

    Skoorbmax Senior Member

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    Meet Tesla's 7-seat sedan - Video - Business News

    Getting closer, looks like it will end up actually existing as a purchasable vehicle :)

    Wow the darn thing has a trunk in the front, too, where is the motor, it's not in the back :D

    If they can really get this out the door with 160 miles range at $50k it's a hell of an achievement.
     
  2. usbseawolf2000

    usbseawolf2000 HSD PhD

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    See how many people and "stuffs" fit in it.

     
  3. Skoorbmax

    Skoorbmax Senior Member

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    wiki says he has five kids, I imagine a couple of those are his.
     
  4. San_Carlos_Jeff

    San_Carlos_Jeff Active Member

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    Here's a picture of the chassis/battery and running gear. Pretty amazing stuff.
     

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  5. Skoorbmax

    Skoorbmax Senior Member

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    :thumb:
     
  6. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    did you hear Elon mention the Cd of 0.22?!!
    When you start stacking up the features of this car it keeps getting more and more impressive.
    Sport version going 0-60 in 4.4 sec., Cd of .22, body rigidity in the top several of all sport cars, incredible electronics/luxury features....and lest we forget, it's a family sedan!
     
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  7. usbseawolf2000

    usbseawolf2000 HSD PhD

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    Wow, 0.22 is very impressive for a 4 door family sedan hatchback without rear wheel covers.
     
  8. daniel

    daniel Cat Lovers Against the Bomb

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    The sport version of the Roadster has a hand-wound motor, which allows more windings to be fit into the same space, and costs an additional $20,000. I think the 300-mile version of the Model S is, what? around $80,000. So a 300-mile sport would be $100,000. Now pile on some options and a fully-loaded S costs about the same as a base model Roadster.

    (My Roadster is the non-sport version.)

    Oh, and just to introduce a wee bit of perspective, to get the maximum (i.e. the touted acceleration) you have to charge the car in Performance mode, which charges the pack to 100% and raises the pack temperature. Both things increase the power output of the pack and shorten its life. Add a couple of tenths of a second (maybe a bit more?) for a Standard charge, which gives the best battery life. Charging in Range mode, to get the advertised range, also charges the pack to 100%, which, as above, shortens its life, but keeps the pack colder than normal, which reduces its power output but also reduces the amount of energy that must be expended in cooling. You cannot get maximum range and maximum acceleration on the same charge. (This whole paragraph assumes these characteristics are the same for the Model S as for the Roadster. I have never charged or driven my Roadster in either Range or Performance mode.)

    The impressive thing is that they've built a six-passenger car (I count the two little kids in back as 1/2 each, and I don't count the guy in the trunk :D ) with all that space and almost the same acceleration as the Roadster, for about the same price. But that fully-loaded sport model will be beyond the price range of most people.

    So I have to revive an old joke:

    A snail bought a Tesla Model S and everybody thought he'd drive like an old grandma, but he turned out to be a maniac behind the wheel. As he drove past an exclusive French restaurant while the chef was sitting on the curb drinking cheap wind from a paper bag, the chef shouted: "Look at that S car go!"

    Evan: Do you know yet which trim line you're going to get?
     
  9. Skoorbmax

    Skoorbmax Senior Member

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    Shamed, but I did laugh :)

    Even the base $50k will be beyond most people, though!

    I didn't know that about the performance vs range in the Roadster.
     
  10. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    Daniel,
    Elon said, in the video, that the fully loaded would be about $100k--I would assume that's going to be the performance model loaded. And at a price like that I will NOT be getting it.

    They haven't announced what trim levels there will be yet. But, in general, I don't need/want the pano roof--just makes my head hot in summer and cold in winter. I think I've decided to go with the 300mile pack (still could be talked/priced out of it) mainly b/c even after 8-10 years, if I lose 30% of the range, I'll still have a 200+ mile pack. if I lose 30% out of a 160 mile pack I'm right at 100 miles range and would likely have to replace it.

    I'm sure they'll have some 'step above base' package that I won't be able to resist, but I don't anticipate getting the fanciest appointments and I don't think my wife will concede to my spending over $70k or so on this thing no matter what.
     
  11. daniel

    daniel Cat Lovers Against the Bomb

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    That makes sense. Just to be clear (assuming it's the same on the S as the Roadster) both the base and the sport models have three modes: Performance, Range, and Standard. Performance is a mode, not a model. The Sport model has stronger performance due to the hand-wound motor.

    You are smart to buy a pack large enough to allow for degradation with time. Some people are buying the Leaf, with its 85-mile real-world range, without considering that in 6 or 8 years it wil probably only have around 65 miles of range. For many that will still be plenty. For some it will be an issue. And it will affect re-sale value. And we don't know what the actual rate of loss will be.

    With my 245 miles, barring defects, my Roadster will not drop down to the longest drive I'd ever use it for during the time I'm still able to drive. I'll be too arthritic to get in and out of it before I even notice an issue of range. The most I ever put on it in a day was 110 miles, and that was only because that first week I took it out cruising in the country until I got tired, a couple of times.
     
  12. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    Here's another good reason to go with the 300--Elon announced today that the 300 mile pack will have a longer warranty! Bigger Battery = Longer Warranty
     
  13. daniel

    daniel Cat Lovers Against the Bomb

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    Thanks for that, Evan. I posted a reply there. Among other things I noted that the longer warranty, like all EV warranties today, probably only covers defects, not earlier-than-expected loss of range.
     
  14. Sergiospl

    Sergiospl Senior Member

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    Model S on EnergyNowNews!

    "Growing Pains for Electric Vehicle Manufacturers"
     
  15. cycledrum

    cycledrum PSOCSOASP

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    I wish Tesla the very best and I hope they are making money, most of all!!! That was funny, like, geez is anyone else going to get out of that car?

    For a mainstream plug-in, I think Toyota is in the very best position of anyone with the PiP.